quick help please - Indian Hill school district in Kenwood/Sycamore township (Cincinnati: appointed, cliquey)

[notfromcinci]

Hi all,

My family and I currently live Norwood. We are not from Cincinnati, but love it here and plan on staying forever. We have been looking at various school districts as we are outgrowing our current home and have been trying to figure out whats best for our kids (the kids are not yet of school age but getting close).
We pretty much had our housing choice down to Madeira. The other choices we considered were Mariemont and Hyde Park/Mt. Lookout (going with the Kilgour/Walnut Hills option). After looking in Madiera for about a year now, we have had a couple close calls where we thought we could buy a house, only to be outbid or be a touch out of range on price, or it has a really small yard, etc. It does not help that we are picky, but at the same time we want to buy a forever house (hopefully). We would like a house larger than some of the cape cods in Madeira, but it's easy to get into the 400k plus range, and it just seems to be getting really expensive for what you get. Not to mention the housing market in Madeira is hot and supply is low in the 250-400 price range.

Getting to my point, i recently noticed the surrounding streets to the west and northwest of Madeira are zoned Indian Hills schools. I guess that would technically be considered Kenwood area. I also noticed searching by school district that there are some similar neighborhoods just west and north of the Kenwood Mall. I drove down some of the streets and they seem very nice to me (such as Tiki, Michael, Miami Hills, etc), basically the same as the Madeira streets immediately bordering to the right (like Timberlane, Mingo, etc.) To me this seems like a good option: I can get more for my money than in Madeira (from what i am seeing i would guess 10-15% more or so), the property taxes are much lower at 1.56% vs. 2.35% in Madeira, and Indian Hill schools are excellent.

Does anyone live in this area that can give me some opinions? I am definitely middle class, born and raised, and would worry about my kids trying to keep up with the joneses in Indian Hill. But is there enough of a base outside of the Indian Hill "village" such that this is not really an issue? Also, it seems to me i can still enjoy the benefits of Madeira as some of the streets are even still walking distance to Madeira. On the flip side i recognize i would lose the community feel that Madeira offers.

Anyways, from the discussions ive searched on this site, while useful, i could not find anything about this topic. Any quick info would be really helpful as there are a few houses we would like to explore asap and dont know if i am missing something that i should be considering. Thank you!

[kjbrill]

That area has been like that bascially since the creation of the shopping center. I had a classmate at UC who had lived on Tiki and gone to Indian Hill schools.

I believe it is a fine area to consider. Just remember one thing, you might be in Indian Hill School District but you are not in Indian Hill. You are still in township. But township has some advantages, it cannot levy an income tax. But you will likely pay an income tax where you work, so mox nix. If you feel you can get more house there than Madeira, I say go for it. The only thing I would feel might be a little slower are some services, like maybe snow removal in the winter. Check and see who handles the trash removal and how it is paid for. I anticipate water is CWW where Madeira is Indian Hill. Check if water and sewer are direct billing and check the rates.

I grew up in Madeira and believe it has become overpriced, particularly since the city services are not all that stellar. Madeira keeps trying to cut costs to hold down taxes, but I believe the citizens are losing more than they are gaining.

I would not hesitate to look in the area you are considering. You can look at the areas north of the mall but I believe they are more modest housing which just happen to be in Indian Hill School District also. A number of years ago I had a relative who lived there before they moved to Pisgah.

[CincyIU29]

This really depends on the age of your kids.

If they are young and you plan on moving before the kids reach high school I would go for it if you like the house.

However, I would never send my kids to high school at IH. I wouldn't necessarily call it keeping up with the Jonses, but there is an attitude the permeates from Indian Hill High School, hard partying and apathy from the kids, an over indulgent sense of self importance from adults, that puts off many of the students who attend from the "non Indian Hill" region. And most people say all high schoolers party. True, but in Indian Hill the resources that are accessible are beyond compare, and there are stories I've heard are pretty absurd. The Indian Hill Rangers are a token police force and will simply not stop kids based on their last names.

To put it bluntly go the Kilgour-Walnut route. You won't be disappointed and your kids will have a much more worldly, well-rounded education.

[kjbrill]

That pocket of homes you are considering has some nice properties. Many years ago Dave Frisch and his married daughters lived there before they moved to their large houses in Indian Hill.

Some other things to check on. Who provides the police and fire protection? Sycamore Township doesn't have a lot of land mass left under their jurisdiction, but if they provide those services to the shopping center based on the taxes received they might be more than capable. In fact they might be superb.

You are right being concerned about your children having to keep up with the Joneses in the Indian Hill School System. There is another section of the school district over on the east side in an area called Camp Dennison. It is definitely lower income and many students from there attend Indian Hill. Also recognize the children of the wealthier residents attend private schools such as Cincinnati Country Day.

[zach_33]

I went to IHHS way back in the day and lived there on Orchard Lane just west of the Town Center. Those houses west of Kenwood road would be too small for your liking, but we had a crew of kids from the neighborhood who did just fine socially in the school district. I was quite low on the family money scale at IHHS, but I forged some solid friendships with kids from IH proper. Some were cliquey but most were not.

That little corner of Kenwood southeast of I-71 and the Town Center is fine as far as I know. Solid middle class, probably even some upper-middle, residential area. You should also consider the subdivisions north of Kugler Mill, between Kenwood and Montgomery Road (Charter Oak, Sturbridge, Heitmeyer). Those houses are larger, are zoned IH schools, they seem to list for $250-$450, and are very conveniently located if you like shopping and highway access.

[CincyIU29]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Also recognize the children of the wealthier residents attend private schools such as Cincinnati Country Day.

This is patently false. Indian Hill's athletic program is considerably better than CCDS, SCD, or 7 Hills in most regards. Unless you want to make the slog out to St. X (quite far from IH) a number of talented athletes from very wealthy families end up at IHHS. It's not just athletes too. Some parents feel the money is unjustified for private school considering how good IHHS is academically, in addition.

[zach_33]

Originally Posted by CincyIU29

However, I would never send my kids to high school at IH. I wouldn't necessarily call it keeping up with the Jonses, but there is an attitude the permeates from Indian Hill High School, hard partying and apathy from the kids, an over indulgent sense of self importance from adults, that puts off many of the students who attend from the "non Indian Hill" region. And most people say all high schoolers party. True, but in Indian Hill the resources that are accessible are beyond compare, and there are stories I've heard are pretty absurd. The Indian Hill Rangers are a token police force and will simply not stop kids based on their last names.

To put it bluntly go the Kilgour-Walnut route. You won't be disappointed and your kids will have a much more worldly, well-rounded education.

I'm calling this out as hyperbole. You may mean well, but I don't think your judgements are rooted in first-hand experience. IHHS is not perfect, but it is 99th percentile on a lot of positive attributes, and while there are most certainly some snobby kids among the student body, any middle class kid who is at least somewhat outgoing and socially confident would be just fine there. I am not what you would call a typical booster, but I would not hesitate to send my kids to IHHS.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by CincyIU29

This is patently false. Indian Hill's athletic program is considerably better than CCDS, SCD, or 7 Hills in most regards. Unless you want to make the slog out to St. X (quite far from IH) a number of talented athletes from very wealthy families end up at IHHS. It's not just athletes too. Some parents feel the money is unjustified for private school considering how good IHHS is academically, in addition.

Indian Hill's athletic program is at the best fair. It is in the same league as Madeira, Mariemont, Milford, etc. They are all small schools in a small league. If someone recognizes they have an exceptional athlete give them a chance and at least send them to Moeller if not St-X.

[Ohio123]

This is secondary information from a friend...but based on the fact that the kids from Camp Dennison are apparently teased with the term "campers" at school...I would hesitate to send my kids to IH if I didn't live in IH proper.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Ohio123

This is secondary information from a friend...but based on the fact that the kids from Camp Dennison are apparently teased with the term "campers" at school...I would hesitate to send my kids to IH if I didn't live in IH proper.

Have you ever known a group of kids who would not take an opportunity to tease someone. I doubt if the term "campers" is going to scar them for life, and it probably lasts about the first two weeks of the school year until they find something more interesting to do.